Barcelona :: Gaudi ::

i love this post. On this day, we went on an art trail....to visit one of Spain's finest artist and Barcelona's favorite son- Antonio Gaudi. I came across some of his works while doing my modern architecture module at NUS. while i don't really fancy his work...the idea of seeing his buildings in person overwhelms me. The boy on the other hand is very much interested in Gaudi. So off we go on this exciting adventure through the streets of Barcelona in search of everything Gaudi!

walking through our beloved La Rambla. this time, a photo with the roman ceasar... this guy was such a gentleman. He gave me a little star (seen here in the palm of my hand) after we took the photo. This star accompanied me throughout the rest of the trip, safe in my comfy bag. Until now, it has never failed to bring a smile to my face. :)

it was truly a beautiful walk through the many streets... we basked in the Catalan sunlight... soaked in the fragrant aroma of coffee as we passed by numerous cafes... photos here and there... and tada! came to ZARA! haha... what's a girl like me to do? walk in of course! not before getting the essential snap of me outside the store. :) I was disappointed with the collection then though. Mostly bold prints and graphics which i wasn't interested in. Oh well... but it was still fun! The boy had to wait around while i browsed. oops.

the walk continues...

the boy had a crazy time taking arty shots of me. here's my favorite.

:: closer ::

:: Barcelona Musuem of Modern Art ::

the whimsical metal/wire mesh structure adorning the facade of the building

gallery walk

the series of shots we took on the steps of the museum. love it. so artsy. those steps lead to an open deck where there's a mini garden and a huge painting. After our clowning around... we head out to the first gaudi building... tada here's La Casa Amatller. As you can see below it was built in 1910. the house is an exquisite piece of art. below is the gorgeous stained glass ceiling. the colors look so magical. really like the different shades of purples. Jordan and I stood there for quite some time, marveling at the glass. so captivating.

stained glass ceiling

Next stop was 'The Casa Batlló' (1904-1906)

On the outside, the building is covered with pieces of tile on the rear facade and large, multi-colored ceramic scales on the main facade. These scales, together with the sinuous shape of the roof resembles a dragon’s back.

We couldn't really capture a good shot of the top where you can see the dragon. so use your imagination yup. it's really an amazing piece of work.

La Pedrera (Casa Milà, 1906-1910)

This building was the last great civil work which Gaudí performed before dedicating all his time to the construction of the Sagrada Família. Will blog about Sagrada in the next post.


( L-R) exterior, sitting on a gaudi inspired bench, the interior of casa mila, the dining room, the sewing room and the last level depicting the miniature constructions of the building.

my favorite shot of us in the building. with our audio guides.

At the top of La Pedrera. The construction is really fluid and organic. It's gorgeous in an unconventional way. I love the colors. Reminds me of Greece. the sculptures remind me of Darth Vader.

okie that's the first part ogf the Gaudi experience. Next up will be the amazing tour of Sagrada Familia (The Sacred Family)

Day 2 (part 2): La Rambla

After the cruise we headed to La Rambla to check out the famous street. absolutely loooove living right in the middle of the street.... so convenient and oh so wonderful to just look out of the balcony and see the flowers and quirky vendors, painters, artists, singers....

The HUGE with extremely HIGH ceiling, and stupendously colourful La Boqueria market! where displays are more exciting than the usual markets. i had fun buying eggs from quirly and adorable egg stalls. I was tempted on numerous occasions to grab a handful of candy and wide assortment of cacoa from the candy and choco vendors. We were also very sad to see skinned rabbits in the meat display section:(

La Rambla is known for the many creative street artists/models dressed up as quirky characters like this! EDWARD SCISSORHANDS!!!!!! Don't you think he really looks like the real Johnny Depp as ES?! love the maggie mee hair :)

i've told many friends that this trip can be summarized in 3 words- "dogs and flowers." and tada! here's the reason why!

What's La Rambla without the beooootiful flowers? The street is lined with so many floral shops that we, or rather I was just so spoiled for choice. Some are like the ones below with flowers adorning the streets while other florists are seen working in pretty glass enclosures like something out of Charlie and the glass elevator. I'm really in flower haven!!

roped the boy in for a few shots as well.

lo and behold! look what we found..... pet shops flanking the sides of the streets.... the little rabbits and birds were super adorable. But we were sad that they were all caged up....

now for the dogs....our first encounter with those super duper adorably charming little creatures..... here's the little terrier waiting for us around a corner. this little guy was trotting around on its own... we were so charmed by its ways and so curious at where its going that we followed it but not before whipping out our cam and took pics with it. it was so friendly! completely reminded me of eddie on frasier.

the little guy finally disappeared into an open door by the side of an alley... being the curious and charmed tourists that we were, we peeked in and saw a guy. he's a painter i think coz we saw some paintings and a long table where he seems to be working on some pieces of art.

the boy and the little guy

we stood by the side hoping that the little guy would come trotting out again. and he did! the artist was so amused at our antics. but look at what the little guy did! a lady was dining next door in a restaurant and she had her dog with her. the 2 dogs started nuzzling each other. awwww.....don't they just make the sweetest couple?

Nothing could prepare us though for the subsequent sight... another dog, it looks like a mix between a maltese and a terrier came up next and unlike the little guy, this little one was obviously not on good terms with the restaurant pooch. they look like enemies in some staring competition. they even barked at each other. it was HILARIOUS.

*to be continued*

Day 2 (part 1): a cruise along barcelona coast

We woke up to a bright sunny morning! we decided to start the day with a cruise along the coast of Barcelona. after a satisfying breakfast in the apartment, we made our own lunch with the food we bought from Carrefour for the cruise - mushroom egg and chicken sandwich. it was really tasty. the boy made it. so here's us and those monumental shots at the city centre.

got our tickets! taking cheesy shots of each other before the cruise....

A stroll around the dock where we saw the cutest elderly couple. they were so sweet that we just had to take a shot of them. we saw some navy personnel trying to catch fish!
on the boat cruise. doing a audrey hepburn.

Midway through the cruise. breathtaking view of the ocean. i remember seeing the coast from the plane. The city of Barcelona from the boat. 2 extremely tall buildings sticking out. the boy relaxing and enjoying the scenery. :)

~ couply ~
* to be continued. *

Day 1: Singapore -- Amsterdam -- Barcelona

Changi Airport

saying goodbyes to mummy, my bro and his girlfriend, xiaoxi and arthur. xiaoxi's just the sweetest. she arrived at my place, bringing along a month's supply worth of muesli bars. my brother was so amused by the photo taking, "waaaa... not as if you're going off for years right...only a month leh." i was so excited to see the boy in 18 hours. everything just felt so surreal. but not seeing mummy for a month, that's scary.

on the plane! midnight flight on KLM. i was so scared i might be bored during the flight that i brought copies of National Geographic but kudos to in-flight entertainment! watched episodes of friends, without a trace, music and lyrics and a week's notice. eating ice-cream at 4am in the morning is an experience as well. Had nice conversation with my flight companion, a friendly MBA student going to amsterdam for a job interview. the flight was rather comfortable with generous leg space but i couldn't sleep much though... i guess it's the adrenaline rush, knowing that i'll see the boy real soon as well as the constant supply of food and movies. :) the sky was absolutely breathtaking. i could see the moon and the countless stars. the bulb of light illuminating from the wing was cute too. as we flew across the continents and various timezones... the break of dawn left me speechless... went completely shutter crazy.

Amsterdam: Schipnol Airport

Ah....the Land of Tulips!!!! Sigh, the beautiful sight that greeted me and made me weak in the knees...... flowers... pretty pretty tulips.... bags and bags of tulips..... pink, purple, orange...they should have a flower shop like this in Changi airport... showcasing all the orchids so visitors can buy them. :) i was so tempted to buy a bag back but at 40 sing dollars before i even touch down at Barca, i think the boy will faint.

Ola Barcelona!

Finally, after a 15 hour flight and a 3 hour transit, welcome to Barcelona! that's not the end of my agonising wait though. the boy will only arrive 6 hours later. i settled into a cafe, ordered a drink, a donut and bread stick and read "Three cups of tea." on a toilet break, i came across the cutest little boy in a barca FC jersey. He was kicking a soccer ball with his dad. i couldn't resist the urge to take his photo. his family was so warm and adorable with their thumbs up sign.

*edit*

this was the train ride on the way to la rambla from the airport. here's the boy's friends that we travelled with. We have Nick, Grace and Shang! :) pics of the boy and me are in Grace's camera.

and tada, welcome to our lovely bed and breakfast right in the middle of La Rambla! the prettiest street in Barcelona! check out the place at http://www.barcelona-accommodation.info/.
The place is exqusite. the rooms are decorated in tones of whites and greys... with red velvet cushions. really cozy. beats the hotels! and best of all it's the location that we simply simply adore! i shall share more about the apartment and the people we encounter in my "goodbye barcelona" post. And yup how can we forget our beloved silly bear who has accompanied us throughout the adventure!